


Against the Tide

by FireEye



Category: Transistor (Video Game)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-19
Updated: 2016-12-19
Packaged: 2018-09-09 17:49:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8905657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FireEye/pseuds/FireEye
Summary: The meandering of two souls, alone together in a world they don't fit.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Alasse_Irena](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alasse_Irena/gifts).



His voice was warm.

A comfortable summer breeze rippled across the water, and his shoulder jostled hers as they stood on the promenade.

“Hey, now – think about it,” he was saying. “If it froze, we could go ice skating.”

She rolled her eyes, leaning away from him, but her wry smile didn’t dim. He watched her walk away down the street, and his grin only deepened. “C’mon, you’d be a natural!”

A moment longer, and he followed her away from the railing. Stepping fast to catch up, he fell into stride at her elbow.

“Then how about a deep snowfall?” As he spoke, he gestured widely in illustration. Sharing his vision. “Cover the entire city in sparkling white snow. We could sit all cozy and warm by the fireside and watch the snowflakes drifting down. It’d be beautiful.”

She sighed.

His enthusiasm was starting to attract attention.

“Alright, how about a thunderstorm? A real torrential downpour? I bet that would be-...”

She stepped ahead, cutting into his path, and shushed him. He touched her fingers where they pressed against his lips; his smile had long since reached his eyes.

Not that it mattered. Not what he said, or what the others thought.

One voice couldn’t change the weather.

~~~

He liked to play on her terminal. Not that he hadn’t been registered one of his own... simply, he never seemed to use it.

Not that she minded.

Light reflected across his face as he watched a prior night’s performance on the screen, and he blinked as she leaned over his shoulder to call up a selection of clothes.

“I like this one,” he remarked, catching one graphic under his fingertips. She gave him a look, and selected the one a row below and a few columns to the side.

Nodding his acquiescence, he admitted, “Though I suppose that a good choice, too.”

She altered the parameters – color, trim – to suit her whim before confirming her selection and leaving the terminal to his control. After a moment’s thought, he followed her to the wardrobe, and leaned on the wall outside the door as she changed.

“What’s the occasion?”

When she stepped from the wardrobe, he blew out a slow breath. Her eyes narrowed in a slow smile at the admiration that colored his cheeks, and she silently invited him to help her finish fastening the pale ribbon behind her neck.

He tied it neatly, and smoothed the silk straps over her skin. She turned around, and slid her arms around him, prompting him to wrap his arms around her shoulders.

“No, really – I’m a little lost here.”

~~~

Music drifted through the small apartment. A recording plate of the highest audio quality available. Not quite the same as hearing it live – more of an echo, really.

Nevertheless, it was easy to get lost in her music.

It was easy to get lost in her voice.

She sat at her desk, pen pressed to her lips in thought. He reclined on her bed, lazily basking in the sight of her.

In many ways, they were two of a kind. Not _exactly_ the same, no, but closer it seemed than anyone else in this world. More often than not, she shared his sentiments. They merely rebelled in different ways.

As the music played on, she began to hum. It was an entirely different tune. She was in an entirely different world, singing an entirely different song. But the music harmonized with the undercurrent of her wordless melody.

His breath caught in his throat, and he sat up. The sound wasn’t something to be recorded, analyzed, picked apart and surveyed by a committee. It was simply a moment.

His fingers hovered by her cheek.

The moment was gone.

He hadn’t meant to interrupt, it just happened before he could think. She turned her face towards him, an inquisitive note in her expression.

He smiled, brushing her hair behind her ear.

The record played on.

~~~

She wrapped his towel around her shoulders, having forgotten to bring one of her own. He returned her giggle with a smile as he followed her in, water dripping on the tiled mosaic.

It would dry quickly.

So would they.

They curled up on the couch, in warm, comfortable clothes, next to the simulation of a cozy fire. She was humming, a familiar tune but one he couldn’t quite place. It didn’t stop him from trying to hum along.

She giggled at him. He chuckled back.

Then he jolted upright, startling her as well.

“Hey,” he remarked. “I almost forgot a pertinent detail.”

He pulled up her terminal, and fiddled with the settings. The apartment windows tinted and changed. The summer city vanished. In its place, under a grey, overcast sky, was the same scenic skyline covered in snow. Her eyes grew wide at the sight, and she glanced between him and the illusory snowflakes drifting on the virtual winter breeze.

Sure, it wasn’t entirely like the real thing.

But it wasn’t bad.

It wasn’t bad at all.

He reclined back into the couch, and held out an arm for her to join him. She fell against him, and snuggled into his embrace.

Humming.

~~~

They sat on the terrace, the lights of the city flickering below. Tonight was locked in as a deep, moonless, starlit sky with thin scattered clouds. Temperate, serene. _Perfect_ , if you enjoyed that kind of thing.

Her eyes were on the stars.

His eyes were on her.

He reached for her shoulder, but something held him back.

Inexplicable.

Instead, he leaned down to kiss her neck. She turned her head towards him, but her expression remained distant. He kissed her, and he felt her fingers on his cheek.

With a deep sigh, he shifted, stretching out beside her and resting his head upon her lap. She scoffed, but smiled down at him, brushing his hair out of his eyes.

“Hey Red... do you ever feel like we...?”

She shushed him. He touched her fingers where they pressed against his lips.

“Yeah, you’re right. It’s nothing.”

**Author's Note:**

> It really is an interesting little world, isn't it? Both in character depth and the glimpses of everyday life...  
> Anyway! I hope you enjoy! Happy Yuletide! :)


End file.
